Who killed the bird? There is no doubt in my mind that the young woman knows who did it. Does she fear we'll tell, or should we fear that she'll tell?

Which, once again, leads me to rhapsodize over this deck! 3/Swords is all about hurtful truths, shared secrets and betrayals. The usual image, a heart pierced with swords is so powerful, and yet it never gets across anything so visceral as this. The image here is so sweet on the surface--the simple, summer frock of the young woman, the white doves, the flowering garden--yet all this sweet, pretty imagery frames a bloody murder. And there is that look which is anything but innocent.

We know that look. It's that look we've either given or been given when we were in on a secret that was being kept from someone else. We've all been there. And so we're pulled into this card. We don't get to remain outside of it as observers. Like it or not, we're in on the truth, and in on the conspiracy to keep it hidden from others.

And that's not all! Being gothic horror, the card carries this guilty-secret feeling to it's most sinister level: the doves (I assume they're turtle doves, symbols of love) clearly put their innocent trust and faith and themselves into someone's hands; that trust and innocence was been betrayed. Murdered. And even if we're only keeping the truth a secret, that makes us complicit. The path beyond lets us know that such betrayals, including a cowardly refusal to tell the truth and face the consequences, puts us on certain paths to inevitable futures.

I am in awe of this card.

Your interpretation is fantastic! I am just now reading these threads, and I have very much appreciated your thoughts.

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